Bar observations

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SP55
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Bar observations

Post by SP55 »

So here are my observations of the first night of bars reopening 1 July in Pattaya.

Boyztown

Almost completely dead. Very dark and quiet.
Cupidol had announced on their Facebook page that they would reopen today - but did not.
All the beerbars in Boyztown closed.
Toyboys open with only 3 gogo-boys. Two customers when I was there. Drinkprice same as before - 240 baht.
Boyzboyzboy, open but I did not bother check inside. Can't imagine they had any customers.
Dreamboys open. Didn't check inside.
X-boys open. Drinks same as before, 280 baht. No shows but they said shows will start again 6 July. About 6-7 boys inside and a few customers when I was there.

Jomtien complex

No surprise this was the area with most customers.
Sun bar and @home bar busy, many boys and customers.
Other bars in the complex not so much people.
Many dark spaces in the complex, some bars did not reopen.

Sunee plaza

Open bars: Diamond bar, The One bar (moved to the space next to Euroboys), Winnerboys, Nice boys, "Green chair bar".
All the rest of the bars did not reopen. The soi where Goodboys and Krazy dragon was, is now in total darkness.
A good reopening for Winnerboys. 6 handsome gogoboys when I was there, and 6 customers. More customers came and left when I was there. Drinkprice same as before, 99 baht.
Powerboys closed.
The best bar was Nice boys. About 12-13 gogoboys, though in jeans shirtless and not their usual in underwear. Drinkprice same as before, 200 baht. The boys were flirty as usual and not shy to open their jeans to show what they have inside the jeans.

Walking street

Almost completely dead. Just 808 disco and the nearby russian bar Moulin Rouge showed some signs of life. One or two odd beerbars was also open. The rest of Walking street in darkness.
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Gaybutton
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Re: Bar observations

Post by Gaybutton »

Thank you VERY much for your excellent report. You really made the rounds. This is just what we in Pattaya wanted to know. I think many are very grateful to you for doing this and providing such detail.

Did you notice any restrictions or anything other than normal procedure at any of the bars you visited?

Does anyone else have reports, whether Pattaya, Bangkok, Chiang Mai, or anywhere in Thailand?
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Re: Bar observations

Post by Gaybutton »

Barry Kenyon's opening night report:
_______________________________

Pattaya fun reopening a damp squib

By Barry Kenyon

July 1, 2020

Hopes that Covid-19 hasn’t temporarily crucified Pattaya’s entertainment industry were dashed on the evening of July 1 when the stormy heavens opened and created a deathly silence below. The date had been eagerly awaited after the Thai government allowed bars and clubs to throw off their padlocks, subject to a mere 22 health and safety regulations. And a 12 midnight closing time for all.

Of course, it’s a premature burial. But, even without the heavy rain, it was obvious that around 80 percent of nitery joints had decided to wait until the tourists returned or until the 22 rules became a manageable handful. The celebrated and heterosexually-inclined Walking Street was virtually deserted apart from occasional journalists in plastic macs taking photos of the gloom and doom. Nobody had even turned on the huge street sign over the entrance archway. A security guard told me that very few drinking places had even phoned the liquor suppliers to stock up. An insightful guy that one.

There were a couple of go-go bars open and a lady in high-heel boots could be observed doing monotonous twirls around a chrome pole in an upstairs window. I did notice a club with an unusual name Showery Except Sunday, but it turned out that some of the neon letters had gone missing and the sign actually said, “Show Every Night Except Sunday”. Nearby was a drinking bar which appeared to have five customers consuming the delectable amber fluid. However, the farang manager confided to me that they were his booze-sodden relatives from UK who were taking advantage of the immigration bureau’s visa amnesty until the end of the month.

Trekking through the pouring rain along deserted and unlit streets, reminiscent of Manchester during the Nazi bombing campaign, I chanced upon the homosexually-inclined Boyztown. Most of the bars and clubs were firmly shuttered but one was offering drinks on the terrace to a lone ranger in a trilby hat whilst a couple of male gogo clubs nearby were technically not closed. The doors were wide open but not a soul in sight apart from a middle-aged man trying to lift a dumbbell. A motorbike taxi driver asked me if I wanted to buy a prohibited substance and, when I said no thank you, murmured that I must be a policeman.

No beating about the bush, Pattaya will see better days again. Sadly, not for now.

Story and photos: https://www.pattayamail.com/news/pattay ... uib-306088
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Re: Bar observations

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Received in an Email from a close friend who prefers to remain anonymous:
_________________________________________________________________

We arrived @ Winner Bar about 5 pm. 5 dancers were cavorting in front of the bar.

After going to dinner about 7 pm, we returned to Winner thru the rain. There were 7 dancers on the stage, all wearing pleated face masks or clear plastic face shields. I left about 8 pm with one of my favorite lads; there were about 10 customers.

By the way, Paul, the owner, told me that his "off fee" is lowered from 500 to 400 Baht and cost of drinks is also reduced.
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Re: Bar observations

Post by SP55 »

Gaybutton wrote: Thu Jul 02, 2020 7:37 am Did you notice any restrictions or anything other than normal procedure at any of the bars you visited?
No it was the usual in the bars as we have seen in other businesses the last months: checking temperature, a piece of paper for your name and telephone number for that government app, and alcogel for cleaning your hands. In most of the gogos the boys had face shields. The boys actually looked cute in those so it wasn't a problem in my opinion.

The rules were enforced very lightly, some bars didn't check if you wrote something on that Thai Chana paper for example.

It was possible to buy a drink for a boy and have him sit with you in all the bars. And from what I've understood by reading the Pattaya news sites, buying drinks for staff were possible in all of the ladybars in Pattaya too.

I can add about Boyztown that also Scandic massage had reopened 1 July. The boy massage place just outside the entrance of Boyztown on soi 13/4, Paradise spa, has been open since massage shops were allowed to reopen.
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Re: Bar observations

Post by Gaybutton »

SP55 wrote: Thu Jul 02, 2020 3:58 pm No it was the usual in the bars
Again thank you very much. For the bars that did open, it seems like very good news.
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Re: Bar observations

Post by Gaybutton »

NOTE: I edited the article to correspond to what I believe is of interest of most people reading this board. The part I left out is mainly about the girly bars. A link to the full article is at the end of this post.
________________________________________________________________________________________

Entertainment venues open in Pattaya after three and a half months on a rainy first night, list of rules

By Adam Judd

Thursday, 2 July 2020,

Here is a video of the first night:




The Pattaya News spoke with the Banglamung Police, which informed us the following rules were in effect in Pattaya:

-Midnight Closure

-1 meter between patron, no large groups (the exact number of five was not stated)

-2 meters between tables of different groups or partitions if it is not possible.

-Thai Chana Platform for Covid-19 tracing strictly applied and used at all venues.

-Hygiene measures such as temperature checks and hand sanitizer upon entry

-All staff must have face masks and/or face shields. It appears hostesses with only face shields is acceptable.

-If a venue allows smoking there should be a separate location or it should be outside.

-The venue must have functioning, clean ventilation

-No promotions or events that are designed to entice people to visit at this time.

-CCTV must be working and stored for thirty days

-Business must have a proper license for all activities

There was no mention of a ban on pool or darts, bans on bottle services or beer towers, mandatory mask wearing for patrons (as they are drinking), bans on purchasing staff drinks or talking to staff and importantly dancing and singing is ok with your own group at your table.

This being said, the rules are subject to change, as always, Banglamung Police reminded us during a phone conversation.

As for the first night of venue re-opening, expected and forecast thundershowers drenched the area for several hours, somewhat dampening the festivities for some. However, many venues were quite steady and lively in customer traffic, especially on Soi 6, Soi Buakhao and the 808 Disco on Walking Street. A significant portion of venues remained closed for a variety of reasons stemming from lack of staff, lack of knowledge around the rules, fear of lack of customers or wishing to wait until after this upcoming weekend which contain mandatory alcohol sales ban days and a two day closure of entertainment venues.

Full article: https://thepattayanews.com/2020/07/02/e ... -of-rules/
Jun

Re: Bar observations

Post by Jun »

The Pattaya News wrote: Thu Jul 02, 2020 5:57 pm -CCTV must be working and stored for thirty days
I wonder if they specify coverage and quality of the CCTV.
Anyone with something to hide would surely want to have a very low resolution CCTV system, with a good understanding of where the blind spots are.
At somewhere like Nice Boys, for example if the police asked to see the CCTV, I suspect it would be preferable if the coverage excluded the stage, or at best showed a discrete angle.
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Re: Bar observations

Post by Gaybutton »

Jun wrote: Thu Jul 02, 2020 6:12 pm
The Pattaya News wrote: Thu Jul 02, 2020 5:57 pm -CCTV must be working and stored for thirty days
I wonder if they specify coverage and quality of the CCTV.
Don't make the mistake of underestimating what the police are capable of doing. I've seen many CCTV accompanying news articles and I can't make out much of anything, and yet the police usually have the criminals in custody in a matter of a few hours.
Jun

Re: Bar observations

Post by Jun »

Gaybutton wrote: Thu Jul 02, 2020 7:30 pm Don't make the mistake of underestimating what the police are capable of doing. I've seen many CCTV accompanying news articles and I can't make out much of anything, and yet the police usually have the criminals in custody in a matter of a few hours.
I wouldn't underestimate that.
I know of one tourist who was staying in the Pattaya Marriot (as it was at the time) and his i-Phone was stolen when he was eating in the restaurant.
He spoke to security. Security spotted someone from a Chinese tour group walk past their table and pick the phone up.
The tour group had already left, but security, said "don't worry, we'll get it back".
They contacted the police, who apparently stopped the tour bus and recovered the phone.

What I would question is motivation.
Anyone owning a home or business and installing CCTV for security purposes would try to install a decent HD system that enables them to identify people.
Anyone owning a Nice bar where the staff masturbate on stage or do anything else you wouldn't necessarily want to share with the police might take some care over where the CCTV cameras point. If they are sufficiently concerned about the matter.
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